Category Archives: Early Intervention

Have you ever sat in a classroom and your teacher asks everyone to read a paragraph out loud? You skim through to see which paragraph has the easiest words to read out loud.

That was me. I was the young girl shaking in my boots when I knew I had to read out loud. Often, I would try to identify the “easy” paragraph, and if I couldn’t find one, I would make the class laugh by getting myself into trouble and taking the pressure off me. I was scared, although everyone thought I was the girl who didn’t fear anything and was tough. I was scared because I saw others do things that I struggled with. Middle school was hard for me. Not only was I dealing with social pressure, but keeping up with my academics was a lot of work in and of itself.

Have you ever just felt like you were different from others? Have you thought that people wouldn’t understand when you expressed your thoughts?

It was very hard for me share the challenges I was facing and explain what was going on for me. I always thought people would think there was something wrong with me. People still tell me, “you’re a tough girl, don’t sweat it.” As a young student, I didn’t talk about my struggles as a way to avoid embarrassment.

What I didn’t know back then was that I have a learning disability. I struggled every day with reading and processing issues. No one had explained to me what my learning disability meant. I had no idea that my individualized education program (IEP) could actually help me succeed. I couldn’t understand how I could do so well in my theatre classes but struggle in others.

Eventually, I fell so far behind in high school that I was not allowed to take any arts classes. I had too many academic classes I needed to complete if I wanted to graduate. So, I dropped out of school. I remember thinking that I would never get a GED (general equivalency degree). But with hard work and determination, I passed the GED exam after trying three times. I was so proud when I passed, and I wouldn’t believe it if anyone told me that I had a disability or needed extra supports after that to succeed. It wasn’t until college that I discovered I was still having trouble.

Soon after getting my GED, I began working at Harlem Children’s Zone. I was listening to the disability specialist speak about the problems high school students will encounter when they enter college. It clicked for me. For the first time, I was able to explain the challenges I faced and I admitted to the specialist that I had an IEP while I was in school. The specialist helped me get testing done so that I would finally be able to prove that I have a learning issue and could receive supports in college. It was like the world turned upside down. I was finally able to get the help I needed. I saw the “perks” of having a disability and getting the services I was entitled to. And, for the first time, I understood what it was I needed help with.

It took me a long time, but I have finally found my voice. I used to be ashamed to talk about my learning issues because I thought I was the only one who struggled, and I worried no one would believe me. But accepting who I am and taking the time to understand what I need has made all the difference. I was lucky to have advocates and people who believed in me. Because of them, I believe in myself and have achieved more than I once thought I could. I am grateful for the ones who stood up with me. Without them, I wouldn’t be who I am today, and I wouldn’t be working to empower others to speak up as well.

Every person with a learning disability deserves the chance to realize their potential and reach their dreams. Understanding yourself and being able to ask for what you need is the first and most important step.

Lena McKnight was born in Norfolk, Virginia and raised in Harlem, New York. She attended public school in New York City until 10th grade and later enrolled in a YouthBuild program where she achieved a High School Equivalency Diploma. Lena then went on to graduate with an associate’s degree and later a bachelor’s degree in Theatre and Sociology in May 2017. Lena has served as a Student Advocate for 10th graders through the Harlem Children Zone and remains involved with YouthBuild. She now works full time and devotes her career to serving kids in her community. Lena is committed to using her voice to have a positive impact on the field of education and on society at large.

Blog articles provide insights on the activities of schools, programs, grantees, and other education stakeholders to promote continuing discussion of educational innovation and reform. Articles do not endorse any educational product, service, curriculum or pedagogy.

Seven years ago, one of my former students came to visit me and see the school I helped to found, Strong Foundations Charter School, a public charter school formed to provide excellent reading instruction to all students.

My former student was home from college where he majored in music and also played in two successful bands nearby. As we walked through the halls, he saw the elementary students working, some of whom were in Orton-Gillingham class—a structured reading approach to help students learn to read. I remarked that if he had been in a school like this, he might not have had to struggle so much with reading when he was younger.

His reply was bittersweet to me. “If I had been to a school like this, I might have been able to be your friend sooner.”

Translation: I might not have seen teachers as the enemy and schools as the battleground for so much of my childhood.

As a young teacher, nothing hurt worse than knowing I could teach someone how to read, but having them be so emotionally damaged from failure that they didn’t even want to try.

Time after time, that was my experience.

When I first began working with the student I quoted above, he was in the sixth grade. A bright mathematician, he had never learned to read despite his teachers’ efforts. Now it was my job to teach him to read and spell. For the first three months, every reading lesson was met with refusal and anger. Gradually, he began to have success and respond to my encouragement until finally, by the end of the year, we could accomplish an entire lesson in one sitting.

I had recently been trained in using the Orton-Gillingham approach. I worked as a special educator in a small private school in New Hampshire, and this student was one of many with a similar story. After years of failure, the first hurdle to help them overcome was their hopelessness when faced with the prospect of trying one more time.

I knew, though, that the English language is actually logical and can be taught systematically.

In my experiences, a multisensory structured literacy approach is essential for dyslexic learners and can also be beneficial to all learners.

At Strong Foundations, we accept all students at all academic levels, from low-achieving to high-achieving. Every student receives Orton-Gillingham instruction in a group as part of their regular education curriculum because we believe it is beneficial for all learners. We also believe it will prevent many students from ever struggling to learn to read. We work on building background knowledge using the Core Knowledge curriculum, a sequenced curriculum for kindergarten through eighth grade students.

In the classroom, students receive Orton-Gillingham instruction at a differentiated pace. Students identified with a learning disability in reading normally receive additional Orton-Gillingham instruction at a therapeutic level, so it reinforces what they have learned in the classroom.

Our hope at Strong Foundations Charter School has always been that more schools would see our success and would use structured literacy approaches from the beginning of a child’s reading instruction.

I would like to see teacher-training programs include training in structured literacy approaches so that all elementary and special education teachers are prepared to teach reading.

It has not happened as quickly as I had hoped, but I am seeing some progress.

The story of my student I mentioned above has a very happy ending. I worked with him through ninth grade, when he let his parents know he wanted to stop tutoring because he wanted to learn to play an instrument. His tutoring time with me conflicted with music lessons. We all agreed that if he could maintain his academics without my help, he could “fire me.” He went on to graduate from high school, earn a four-year degree from a prestigious college of music and now works as a professional musician.

Beth McClure has served as the principal of Strong Foundations Charter School for twelve years. She earned a master’s in learning and language disabilities and a master’s in Educational Administration. She is a fellow of the Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators and currently serves as its president. She recently joined the Professional Standards Board of the New Hampshire Department of Education. Her favorite professional activity is teaching reading.

The U.S. Department of Education does not endorse specific curriculums or approaches to education. Blog articles provide insights on the activities of schools, programs, grantees, and other education stakeholders to promote continuing discussion of educational innovation and reform. Articles do not endorse any educational product, service, curriculum or pedagogy.

Caryl Jaques is the Director of Little One’s University in Essex Junction, Vermont. She earned a bachelor’s of science degree in education with a concentration in psychology at the University of Vermont as well as a master’s degree in education. She is licensed to teach children ages birth through sixth grade and has been directing child care centers since 1997. Caryl opened Little One’s University in May of 2009 and guided the center to earn a four-star rating in Vermont’s Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) and continuously works to improve the quality of the program. She is also the proud mother of six children ranging in age from three months to 18 years old.

How did you begin your career in early childhood?

I graduated from University of Vermont with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education with a concentration in child psychology. I was offered one teaching position but it was too far from my house to commute each day so I started working in a child care center with younger children. I fell in love with it and after a year became the director of the program. We expanded the program from serving just preschoolers (3–5 year-olds) to a program that served infants through 6 year-olds. While I was there, I also went to school and earned a master’s degree in education, which gave me the skills to begin to address the high staff turnover rate. I created an in-house training program that gave staff the opportunity to become lead teachers. After 12 years I decided it was time to open my own child care center. In the new center my teachers and I built a program based on love and empathy for children. Over time our center became known as the center that would take children who were asked to leave other child care centers due do behavioral challenges. Parents of these children struggled to find child care and they absolutely felt the love and commitment we were willing to invest in their children. A high percent of the children we served were at-risk due to being exposed to trauma and toxic stress. Most of these families received subsidies for child care and were not able to pay their co-pay. We became a resource poor center serving the most at-risk population. Love was not enough to provide these children with what they needed. We had excellent teachers but were missing the developmentally appropriate books and materials. We desperately wanted to improve quality but found very little support for programs that were starting out.

What strategies did you use to improve the quality of the early learning experiences you provide?

Five years ago we were selected by the Caring Collaborative as one of the early childhood sites they worked with to infuse resources and services to increase the quality and support families that were living below the poverty level received. This partnership provided our center with materials and resources that helped increase the quality of care and education that our teachers were providing. The Caring Collaborative provided the financial means for us to engage in trainings on how to work with children that suffered from high levels of trauma and toxic stress. This helped us improve our quality, and as our quality increased so did the money coming in from the child care subsidies (Vermont’s Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS)—known as STARS is connected to the state’s tiered reimbursement subsidy system, the higher your center’s star-rating the higher reimbursement you receive for the child care subsidy). The extra money allowed us to purchase materials that helped us continue to increase our quality, which brought new partnerships for our center. For example, we were chosen by the Howard Center to become a therapeutic child care center. This partnership gave us access to professionals with degrees and experience working with children with severe behavioral challenges. We were then more able to identify and meet the needs of our families. We developed a food program through a partnership with our local school district, and we were also able to offer yoga and arts programs for children. We added an onsite resource coordinator to connect families to resources outside of the center in areas that families need support such as finding secure housing. We were no longer a program that just loved children but we were a program doing great things for children and families.

Due to the increase in quality and exposure from the partnership with the Caring Collaborative, our center was able to create a partnership with the Essex Westford School District. The state received a federal Preschool Development Grant (PDG) and our local Essex school district was a subgrantee for the PDG expansion. The school district needed additional high quality classrooms and asked us if we were interested. This partnership meant we could serve four year olds in a high quality classroom and we could hire a licensed teacher with the district paying a percentage of the teacher’s salary. By the district paying a percentage of the salary, we could have 2 assistant teachers in the classroom and buy developmentally appropriate furniture, books, materials and toys for the classroom. The funding that supported the 4 year old classroom allowed us to focus our resources on other classrooms. Overall it helped us improve our quality across the center. We went from being rated as a two star center (on our state’s QRIS) to almost the highest star rating (five). The great thing is that when you are rated higher on the state’s QRIS you receive a higher reimbursement rate for children receiving the state child care subsidy. We also noticed that with our higher rating we began to attract families that paid out of pocket for child care (not through the subsidy). Without this partnership with the school district we never would have been able to improve our quality.

Johnny and Kim visit Caryl and other early learning providers/special educators in Vermont during 2018 back to school tour.

Why do you think the early learning years are so important?

The early years are so important because they set the foundation for future learning and adulthood. The quality of experiences that a young child has directly impacts the child’s social, emotional and physical development and the adult they will become. In my experience both with my own children and those attending my center, there is a difference in kids who had access to high quality early learning programs and those who didn’t, which can be seen as they enter elementary school. When we were trying to love children through their tough experiences without resources, it wasn’t enough! When you are able to provide children with high quality experiences you see challenging behaviors diminish and an overall reduction in stress not just for the child and teacher but also for the families. High quality programs have a huge impact on the relationships between a child and his or her family.

How do you work with families?

It is really important to create a strong sense of community among the families you serve. When a child attends our center we are clear at the beginning that we are a partner with the family and that we believe families are their child’s first teacher. We use the strengthening families self-assessment tool for early care and education programs to help promote positive relationships with families. We host family nights once a month in the center bringing families together to discuss different topics and build community. We also have a community swap where families can bring in things they no longer need and trade them for other materials they might need for their home. For families that have children with challenging behaviors, we’ve learned about the importance of building a positive home/school relationship from the beginning so they trust us and understand that our goal is to help their child be successful, not make them feel bad about their parenting. We do our best to engage families early knowing that many of them may not have had the best experiences in school. We also rely on the special interventionists that come to work with some of our children. They often will help with specific strategies we can implement in the classroom and that families can try at home.

What suggestions do you have to improve early childhood services and programs?

There are so many amazing people and resources in the early care and education field. Child care center directors and staff often become isolated and feel like they are responsible for solving the world’s problems alone. My advice is to be open and honest, invite people in and collaborate to best meet the needs of the children you serve.

Blog articles provide insights on the activities of schools, programs, grantees, and other education stakeholders to promote continuing discussion of educational innovation and reform. Articles do not endorse any educational product, service, curriculum or pedagogy.

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When my first child was born I was a young and inexperienced new mother. My husband and I had just moved to the United States from Venezuela, and we were far away from our relatives.

I wasn’t sure if I should speak English or Spanish to our first daughter, and felt really perplexed. Everyone told us to stick to one language because children might get confused when they were spoken several languages at a time.

Once I realized my daughter had a speech delay and attention issues, I started to read everything I could about early child development. I felt very overwhelmed and isolated.

The pediatrician referred our child to an evaluation center in Miami where we lived. All our concerns and intuition were confirmed: our four-year-old child had some type of learning disability. The year was 1994, and I didn’t know anything about Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) or the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

Veronica’s private speech therapy sessions were conducted in Spanish. Since we lived in Miami, a very bilingual community, the Spanish-speaking speech therapist recommended us to enroll our daughter in a bilingual cooperative preschool that existed in the community. The preschool teacher referred our daughter to our school district to have a series of tests. Then, Veronica had her first IEP. A few IEPs later, it was determined that Veronica not only had a learning disability, but she also had “pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified.” In other words, she had a form of autism.

When Veronica was in the fourth grade, I found a flyer in her book bag about an organization that would assist parents of children with IEPs understand their rights. That flyer changed my life!

The organization was Parent to Parent of Miami, a federally funded Community Parent Resource Center in South Florida. I contacted them and got all the information and assistance I needed at the time. Then, I decided that I wanted to work there! I wanted to help other parents, especially immigrant parents like me, understand their rights and get involved in their kids’ IEP process.

My lucky day came a couple of months later when I found another flyer in Veronica’s book bag. This time the flyer said that Parent to Parent of Miami was looking for bilingual parents of children with IEPs to work helping other parents. The year was 2000, I got the job, and I have been working within the Parent Center Network since.

Another big move awaited us, and we ended up living in New Jersey. As soon as I knew we were going to live in NJ, I contacted the SPAN Parent Advocacy Network, the New Jersey Parent Training and Information Center, to get information about the school system in our new state and to get a job or a volunteer position at the parent center. I started working at SPAN in 2003.

During my 15 years at SPAN, I have worked on several different projects from helping parents organize advisory groups to training parent mentors under New Jersey Parent to Parent to coordinating the OSEP English to Spanish Translation Glossary project to working on two national projects assisting parent centers across the regions.

My trajectory at SPAN has helped me empower my daughters to speak up, fight for their rights and have high expectations in their lives. It also has made me appreciate the impact of the civil rights and the disability movements in our society at the local and national level as well as globally as an international community.

Veronica attended a public high school in northern New Jersey where students with and without IEPs share the same building; and for most of the students, they also share classrooms and after-school activities. Veronica grew up in a naturally inclusive environment and was part of her high school basketball team. She participated in several SPAN transition-to-adulthood trainings and workshops. In addition to her high school academic courses, Veronica sampled jobs in the community, volunteered for several years at a summer camp for younger children in the spectrum, and learned to use public transportation as part of her IEP goals.

Now, Veronica is an adult who takes classes at the local community college and has a very active social life that includes a fiancée. Recently she got her driver’s permit and was admitted into the 2018-2019 New Jersey Partners in Policy Making cohort.

As for speaking English and Spanish with my daughters, I speak both languages with them, and it’s wonderful.

Blog articles provide insights on the activities of schools, programs, grantees, and other education stakeholders to promote continuing discussion of educational innovation and reform. Articles do not endorse any educational product, service, curriculum or pedagogy.

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Nicola—a mom of three and an advocate—and her son Dylan, a college sophomore, share what has made their journey unique in hopes of inspiring others. Below, they take turns asking questions and telling their story.

Nicola: I want to start by sharing what I love most about my son. He sees the world in many dimensions. He is inquisitive, caring and creative. Traveling with Dylan is one of my favorite things to do because he sees the nuances and details of the culture, architecture, food and music wherever we are. He expresses genuine joy when experiencing new things. He is very social and adventurous, and people seem to be drawn to him like a moth to a lightbulb. But what I’m most proud about is that after years of struggling with an undiagnosed learning difference, and battling self-doubt, he is a sweet and curious guy and he has found strategies to deal with his learning and attention issues.

Nicola: Do you remember what it felt like for you when you started school?

Dylan: I remember being asked in first grade to write down my name and to describe something I liked. I didn’t know how to write or spell, so I wrote how they do in cartoons with just a scribble in a bubble on the page because that’s what I thought writing was. I felt defeated—like I wasn’t normal, and I didn’t know why. I didn’t like going to school because I felt different, but I did like seeing my friends. Everything seemed easy for them, and it was frustrating that they seemed to understand what the teacher was asking but I didn’t. I kept waiting for something to click.

Dylan: When did you first really know that I was having trouble learning in school? Was it in reading or writing?

Nicola: When you were young, we knew you had some trouble when it came to sensory things, and we worried you’d be overwhelmed in a big school. So we started you in a small, private school with your brother, hoping that a small community would make you feel secure and you could explore your ideas.

You were very creative and bright, but when it came to writing and reading you avoided the tasks; you had difficulty writing your name, yet your vocabulary was advanced.

When we asked the school why there was such a disparity and to help us figure out what was going on, we were told that you were “all boy” and you had a late birthday, but you would eventually catch up.

I knew there was something else going on, but I didn’t know what it was.

Dylan: At what point did you finally have hope and think it would get better?

Nicola: When you were in the private school, they wouldn’t do an evaluation, so we had to get a private evaluation.

The first big moment was when we finally had a name for what you were experiencing—dyslexia and executive functioning challenges. There was finally a reason why you were having such a hard time in school. However, there wasn’t a roadmap or any guidance from professionals on what kind of intervention services would best help you.

We spent years and a lot of resources finding tutors and trying to get you the services you needed.

It wasn’t until you entered middle schools—this time to our neighborhood public school—that things really turned around.

Finally, the school was proactive. They were quick to complete a full evaluation and get to the bottom of what was happening. They worked with us to put together an Individualized Education Program (IEP) and get the right interventions in place. It was then—once they were able to provide the specific type of reading intervention you needed—that you started to make real progress.

Nicola: What do you think your biggest accomplishment so far has been? And what are your goals?

Dylan: For me, it is being able to retain knowledge at a higher level and overcome my struggles with writing and reading.

It’s hard because dyslexia never goes away. I still have to work twice as hard as my peers. Ironically, it has made me a better student, and I have been on the honor roll since 10th grade.

Taking the SAT and ACT was difficult, but I was still accepted into many colleges including Loyola Marymount in Chicago, University of Colorado, Colorado State University, San Francisco University, Syracuse University, Oregon State University, Temple University and San Diego State University. Receiving those letters of acceptance made me feel that they valued my learning style and I had something important to offer.

In the future, I want to have a successful career that I enjoy and allows me to be creative. I am interested in design, and I can see taking my ideas into the world of advertising or clothing design.

What is very important to me is that I am surrounded by friends and family and never stop learning.

Dylan: What has been the best part of this whole journey for you?

Nicola: Even though it was hard to see you struggle and it took a long time to figure out how to help, the best part is that you taught me how to be an advocate.

You taught me that in order to succeed, you have to build partnerships. You can’t accomplish things alone, and if you don’t speak up then nothing will change. I have also met a wonderful community of other parents and educators who are passionate about children and a career that I love and never imagined doing.

Dylan: If you could talk to every parent who’s dealing with some of the same worries, what would you tell them?

Nicola: First, I would tell every parent to trust their instincts; if you feel something isn’t right with your child’s education then reach out to your teacher or pediatrician.

I would add that parents should get involved and know their rights. It is every child’s civil right to an education and because of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the Rehabilitation Act, there are protections for your child.

If your child struggles with dyslexia, make sure he receives the correct evidence-based intervention services. Question everything, but also listen and learn. You don’t have to be an expert, but you do need to be an educated consumer.

Get involved, connect with other parents and educators, and create a team to work on the situation together. You can’t and shouldn’t do this alone.

Nicola: What’s one thing you want to say to younger kids who, right now, are where you used to be?

Dylan: The world isn’t built for us, but we shouldn’t conform to regular learning styles. You have a unique brain and you can use that brain to solve problems and come up with solutions that other people couldn’t even conceive of. When school is difficult, it doesn’t mean you should give up. It means you should try twice as hard and figure out a way to change the system. You cannot change the past but you can shape your future.

About the authors:

Dylan Frost is a sophomore in college, majoring in product design and development. He is an avid soccer player, ceramic artist, and world traveler when there is time. He is active in his fraternity and looking for an internship this summer in product design.

Nicola Frost is the Regional Field Manager (Colorado) for National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD). Prior to becoming an advocate, she was an Emmy-award winning producer for the Food Network and directed documentaries. Her passion is in civil rights for all underserved communities. When she isn’t advocating she is biking the Rocky Mountains and kayaking with her family.

Blog articles provide insights on the activities of schools, programs, grantees, and other education stakeholders to promote continuing discussion of educational innovation and reform. Articles do not endorse any educational product, service, curriculum or pedagogy.

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Courtney with her twin sons on their first day of kindergarten in a new state. The boys play t-ball together, love Super Why, biking to the park, and are in the same kindergarten class.

A guest blog by Courtney Hansen. Courtney is a non-attorney special education advocate. She advocates at the local, state, and national level for disability rights, and blogs about it at www.inclusionevolution.com

My son with Down syndrome and his typically-developing twin brother just started kindergarten. The military also just moved us across country this past summer.

There’s been a lot of change this year, and I was often overwhelmed by the idea of my first-born twins starting “real” school in a new state. I cried like a baby their first day of school, but they just marched off to school like they owned the place. I was amazed, but realized that it was the result of years of preparation and help from so many different people. Having a son with a disability has shown me the value of “the village.”

About two years ago, I really started investigating the idea of a fully inclusive education for my son with Down syndrome. I even blogged about my ultimate goal: my twins graduating together in the year 2031.

For most other sets of twins graduating together wouldn’t be a goal, because it would just happen automatically. With lower graduation rates for students with disabilities compared to non-disabled students, and even lower rates for student with intellectual disabilities, I knew our path would be hard fought. It all starts in kindergarten of course. So, I worked tirelessly over the past two years to get where we are today. Both Hunter and Troy are in the same class, and Troy is 100 percent included with his typical peers with the appropriate supports to be successful.

Too many kindergarteners with intellectual disabilities don’t have the same opportunity as my son, even though federal and state laws require the continuum of placement to start in general education with appropriate supports. You might ask how I successfully got him included 100 percent of the time and if he really is being successful. I will tell you it all starts with the village, as well as learning you and your child’s rights.

1. Find Your Tribe

Social media can be a blessing and a curse, but for parents of children with disabilities it’s often an awakening.

Getting plugged into the Down syndrome community via social media helped me realize what is possible.

Even though we’ve lived in three states since our twins were born, I’ve been able to make friends in each state and around the country who have shaped my perspective on what it means to live and thrive with an intellectual disability.

Can my son go to college? Of course, because I just talked to Beth whose son with Down syndrome is moving across country to attend George Mason University.

Can Troy really find a meaningful career? Yes! Elizabeth’s son just got another promotion at Kroger.

These friends have pushed me to set high expectations for my son.

2. Lean on Experts

No doubt about it, you are the expert of your child.

When he was little you were up in the middle of the night with his croupy cough, and you’ll be there when he ages out of the system.

Still, we can learn so much from doctors, therapists, counselors, and teachers.

I always set some of the private therapy and individualized education program (IEP) goals. In return, many doctors, therapists, and teacher have taken the time to really educate me on best practices in my son’s areas of need and given me functional tips to help my son at home.

3. Start Advocating

I started advocating early ensuring my son would receive an inclusive education with proper supports. I attended conferences and special education trainings to learn my son’s educational rights.

You can start local with school board meetings and school superintendents. Request training for teachers in best practices like Universal Design for Learning and Multi-Tiered System of Supports.

At the state level, I advocated for a bill that is now law in Ohio to end organ transplant discrimination for people with disabilities. Many disability organizations provide opportunities to advocate nationally either over social media or in person.

I attended the Buddy Walk on Washington, and had the opportunity to ask my U.S. Senators and House of Representatives to preserve important health care protections for people with disabilities and better fund IDEA. Positive change starts with you and me. So get out there; our children’s futures depend on it!

4. Take a Break

Most parents of children with disabilities are the most tenacious, hard-hitters I’ve ever met, but this heightened existence of higher highs and lower lows can take their toll on Type-A personalities like me.

I have to make a conscious effort to lean on friends and family outside of the disability community.

The military affords our family respite hours every month, and I use every last minute. The only way I can be a superhero for my son is if I take care of myself.

Parenting a child with a disability is a marathon, not a sprint.

Even with the strong start my son has, I know we will hit many bumps in the road.

Will I know when his needs aren’t being met? How will I ensure he’s included, but also gets the support he needs for a successful future?

My best answer is to lean on my village. I wish more people would embrace their “village.” Our children, community, and country would be better for it!

Troy and Hunter

Blog articles provide insights on the activities of schools, programs, grantees, and other education stakeholders to promote continuing discussion of educational innovation and reform. Articles do not endorse any educational product, service, curriculum or pedagogy.

My name is Douglas Rawan II. I am 11-years-old, live in Massachusetts, and I have a story about dyslexia.

It starts back in fourth grade when I began to feel different than my friends in school. Making jokes was the way I would cover up having no confidence in school. No one knew that inside I felt stupid. I remember one day when my mom asked me to do some reading and writing, and I threw pencils on the floor and my book. I remember my mom looked really sad. Inside I knew it would be too hard, but I didn’t know why. Since Kindergarten, my mom hired tutors to help with reading, but nothing changed at school. I also had a hard time focusing at school until one day I came home and told my mom that I asked the assistant principal for a standing desk. My parents didn’t even know what that was.

One day, my fourth grade teacher called my mom and said she thought I was really smart but that my work did not show it. She encouraged my parents to get me tested. I did get tested, and after that I thought things would get better for me but they didn’t. My parents finally told me the testing showed that I have ADHD [Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder] and dyslexia and that I was two to three years behind in reading. I was so mad and asked them “WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME BEFORE?”

My parents didn’t know what to say to me and never even used the word dyslexia, as the school told them that they don’t use that word. Once I learned about dyslexia and all the famous people who had it I told my dad one day, “Dad, I hope that I have dyslexia as Albert Einstein had it!”

I am dyslexic, which means I have a problem with reading. Having dyslexia doesn’t mean you have low intelligence or are lazy, it just means that your brain works differently. When I read, I don’t understand what I am reading, and I get easily frustrated. When I see a long word, I think “OH NO,” because I think I can’t read the word. Sometimes I break up the word or skip it. Also, when I read it usually comes out slow. I forget what happens when I read. A lot of words are hard for me to read. This makes me feel stupid.

Luckily, I go to a new school, which helps kids like me. When I came to my new school for fifth grade, I had a gap between my reading and grade level. In my first year, I made more progress in my reading than I ever had before. Today I’m still a little below my grade level, but with the right instruction, I expect to close the gap all the way. The teachers help me understand how my brain works, which helps me to read.

I am now in sixth grade in small classes and can get the tools I need, which is helping me to focus and “unlock my brain.” The way they are teaching me actually builds new connections or neurons in my brain, which changes the way my brain works, helping me to communicate and read better. I don’t have to struggle alone and think about how stupid I feel any more.

Knowing that I just needed the right tools makes me wonder what happens to other kids who are dyslexic. Are there other parents like mine that need the help for their kids? I wish that kids like me who still struggle with reading and paying attention in school can get the help they need.

This is why I decided to write a letter last year to President Donald J. Trump asking him what he could do as our president to make sure no child like me was ever left behind. After I sent the letter, my mom started getting other calls from moms who also see their kids struggling.

At the beginning of sixth grade, I met a new student who was visiting my school named Michael who was having troubles just like me. My mom told his mom that I wrote a letter to President Trump, and she sent it to Michael’s mom. The day I first met Michael, he asked for my autograph. It made me feel like I just won the World Series. Michael had never met someone like me who had the same troubles as he did.

If I look back, I wish my mom didn’t have to cry so much. I wish that my school had tested me back in elementary school so that I did not struggle alone. I wish the word dyslexia was used all the time so all kids could know that some of the most successful people like Thomas Edison, Leonardo da Vinci, Steven Jobs, Sir Richard Branson, Walt Disney and JFK Jr. all had dyslexia.

If kids like me knew that dyslexia doesn’t have to do with intelligence but that we have a hard time understanding how sounds and letters go together, which makes it really, really hard to read. I wish kids knew that when a teacher read me a test I got a 107, but if I had to take a regular test and write the answers I would get a 67 or 57. When the teachers told my mom that I just had to study more, I wish the teacher knew that it wasn’t the material I didn’t know, it was the way that they were asking me to take the test.

I wish for so many things for the kids who struggle. I wish I could go back to my old school and talk to all the kids who feel stupid because of reading and tell them the truth about dyslexia. I wish for all of this and so much more for kids and for their moms and dads.

I hope that no kid spends another minute feeling stupid and sad.

Related Blog: OSERS Assistant Secretary Collett expressed his commitment to rethink special education in a blog post last month.

Blog articles provide insights on the activities of schools, programs, grantees, and other education stakeholders to promote continuing discussion of educational innovation and reform. Articles do not endorse any educational product, service, curriculum or pedagogy.

“High achievement always takes place in the framework of high expectation.”

—Charles Kettering, American inventor, engineer and businessman.

As parents, we all want to see our children reach their full potential. Our visions of their successes and accomplishments may vary, but we all yearn to guide our children to greatness. How do we set them up to fulfill their potential? What foundations are we building for them? What roadmaps can we provide to help them navigate on their journey?

I am the proud mother of three terrific children (Biased? Yes!). While each of them is unique and inspiring in their own abilities and qualities, my sons have some very distinct similarities.

In the early school years, both began showing similar behaviors: high impulsivity, defiance, acting out, disruption, the inability to follow direction and under-developed social skills.

Both were bright and strong willed and insisted on doing things their own way in their own time.

Both were identified by educators as “challenging and difficult” and by peers as a “bad kid.”

They were both evaluated at five years old, 10 years apart. That’s where the similarities ended.

Let’s start with my older son’s journey.

In 2007, at age five, he was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), pervasive development disorder otherwise non specified (PDD-NOS) and anxiety. His individualized education program (IEP) team, despite all good intent, viewed my son through a deficiency lens. We let the troublesome behavior take the driver’s seat. His aptitude for learning did not seem to align with his behaviors. The behaviors escalated. The suspensions began. His progress regressed, and his growth stalled. We changed schools often. Even though we began as advocates, we soon became adversaries in IEP meetings.

On the other hand, my youngest son has had a very different experience. At age five, he was diagnosed with anxiety and showed a high likelihood of having ADHD. He was also identified as gifted. We worked closely with his school to find a teacher who was a good fit and we collaborated with the occupational therapist, the talented and gifted team, and the area education team, just to name a few.

We first took a close look at youngest son’s evaluation and began the work of identifying supports and developing a plan for acceleration. His problem behaviors were seen in the context of his aptitude and understood as a part of his development as a twice-exceptional student. His IEP centers around his strengths. And yet, we have only just begun to build the foundation of his future achievements. There is still far to go.

If you ask me, the major difference between my two children is in the way that we view them. After all, children with learning and attention issues have a unique set of challenges, and my children are not alone.

Children with learning and attention issues make up 1 in 5 students in our nation’s public schools.

Kids with learning and attention issues account for two-thirds of the children with IEPs who are suspended or expelled. They are 31 percent more likely to be bullied than kids without disabilities. They are three times as likely to drop out of high school as kids without disabilities, and half of all kids with learning disabilities are involved in the juvenile justice system by young adulthood.

These numbers could describe my oldest son, and that is alarming for me.

What drives these numbers? And what can be done?

We must set high standards and expectations for our kids. We must encourage and support our kids to meet the same expectations as their peers, and make sure they are engaged and feel a sense of ownership of their learning. We must encourage our students to view a wrong answer as a learning opportunity, rather than a shortcoming.

We expect insight and reflection to instill a lifelong journey of learning. Our expectations should likewise remain lofty.

When we have low expectations of our students, we allow for minimal effort. Student engagement, self-advocacy and achievement will most definitely stall when the bar is set too low. Self-esteem and gaining a sense of confidence in one’s abilities are lifelong benefits with roots in meeting high expectations.

We can make high expectations real for so many more kids if we focus on their strengths. Using strengths as a framework for educational support and structure will allow for children to use their natural abilities and talents to reach their highest potential.

Across the country, school districts are taking a new approach with Strengths Based IEPs. The move to this type of IEP will certainly require greater professional development for educators in each district. Parents can go to school board meetings and demonstrate their value, but there are great resources for anyone who wants to begin this process within your school or community.

Using a strengths-based approach made an incredible, positive difference for my younger son. Setting high expectations and focusing on strengths allows parents and educators to view our students through a mindset of competence and high achievement. The tools are available and my family has seen the impact firsthand. So let us begin the work to build the foundations of an exceptional educational experience for every child!

Blog articles provide insights on the activities of schools, programs, grantees, and other education stakeholders to promote continuing discussion of educational innovation and reform. Articles do not endorse any educational product, service, curriculum or pedagogy.

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Briana Harris is from Henderson, Tennessee, and currently lives in Nashville, Tennessee. She is a lead teacher at Cambridge Early Learning Center, which is part of the Metro Nashville Public Schools system. She earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from the University of Tennessee at Martin. She began her early learning career in Nashville as an educational assistant and interim teacher at the Martha O’Bryan Center. She is passionate about early childhood education, her family, and her three dogs!

ED: How did you begin your career in early learning and development?

BH: I’ve known since I was in kindergarten that I wanted to work in early childhood education. I had a difficult childhood. My experiences caused me to be a fragile child and I didn’t trust new people and was afraid of new situations. My kindergarten experience was critical for me. Was school going to be okay? Was it a safe place? I didn’t attend preschool, so kindergarten was my first school experience. My kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Emily Brown, was everything I needed her to be for me as a child. She and her classroom were my safe place when I really needed one. I so clearly remember the love, grace, patience, and kindness I experienced that first year in school. She gave me a sense of belonging in a world that terrified me and I knew that I wanted to be just like her. I wanted to be a teacher and wanted to do for other children what she had done for me. She had the power to help me love school or hate school and I knew I wanted the opportunity to make children’s first year of school positive and meaningful.

My high school offered a program where students could spend time as a teacher’s aide, which was great for those of us interested in an education career. I worked in a first grade class for an hour every day. Then, when I went to college, I went into an elementary education program so I could become certified to teach PreK through third grade. Many people asked me why I was limiting myself, since I could get a degree in teaching kindergarten through 12th grade. This didn’t impact me because I knew that I was passionate about teaching young children. After graduation, I started working at the Martha O’Bryan Center in Nashville, Tennessee, which focuses on serving children living in poverty. It was a great experience and I eventually became a lead early childhood teacher. Then I began teaching at the Cambridge Early Learning Center, a center with only preschool classrooms that is part of the Metro Nashville Public Schools system. This is my third year teaching at Cambridge. I love being in an exclusively early childhood center — there is a lot of singing in the hallways! The downside is my students are only here for a year and I don’t have the opportunity to see them grow as they progress in older grades.

ED: What is your favorite thing about the beginning of the school year and what do you do to prepare for the first day?

BH: Getting to meet the new children and families. For the most part, the children are so excited. Some of them have been in child care or Head Start, but for many of them, it is their first time being in school. I take it very seriously that they enjoy their first school experience from the beginning. After looking at the names on my enrollment list, it really is fun to meet them in person.

In terms of preparation, I remind myself to be patient and go with the flow; having strict educational expectations for the first few days is unrealistic. It is often very hectic with parents and children crying and parents trying to take pictures, and I have to remind myself to be flexible.

Children’s cubby cabinet

I want the kids to have a sense of belonging immediately. So, before the first day, I work hard to make sure the kids’ names are on their cubbies and in other places in the classroom. I also work to put pictures of the kids up within the first couple of days since many students don’t yet recognize their written name. We also get their artwork posted in the classroom early. It is really powerful for them to feel like they belong.

The first day can be hard on families, especially if it is their first or only child. The week before school we host Meet the Teacher Night, where families can bring their child in to meet me and see their classroom. This also gives families the chance to speak with me so we can begin to build trust. It is really important to give families the opportunity to ask me questions and see what I’m like. This event has been very successful. I can really tell the difference on the first day of school with children whose families were able to take advantage of coming in before the first day. The children usually settle in much easier.

Some parents have a hard time saying goodbye to their child, particularly on that first day. One of the things I tried to do this year was to have a place outside the classroom where they could take their first day of preschool photo so that after the photo was taken they could say goodbye and their child could enter the class on their own. In our school, we have an archway near the entrance and we really encourage families to say goodbye there. We try to foster independence at the beginning of the year with the kids and work with families to help them understand that this is a good thing!

ED: How do you know if the first day was a success?

BH: I like to think of it as a success if the children leave with smiles on their faces. We often have tears at the beginning of that first day, but if they leave school with smiles and say they want to come back by the end of the day then I think it was a success. We might have tears again on the second morning, but again, if they leave happy by the end of the day then I think it was a success. It might still be scary to get dropped off, but those smiles show me that they did have fun and enjoy school, which is my goal for those first few days.

ED: What advice do you have for other early learning teachers on strategies to use at the beginning of the school year, to make the rest of the year a success?

BH: My advice is to systematically focus on building strong social and emotional skills for the first month to six weeks. Our school uses the Pyramid Model for promoting social and emotional competence in young children and we start implementing this on the first day. We did home visits a couple of weeks ago and many parents wanted to know when we were going to teach letters and numbers. We share with families how important it is that we start out with a focus on social-emotional skills. Starting school is a huge transition for kids. Children need to be able to identify their emotions and develop skills for how to deal with different emotions. We start the year learning our schedule and routines, discussing what is expected of members of our classroom, exploring how to be kind to one another, and understanding that it is okay to get upset while learning skills to calm ourselves. We also spend a lot of time on problem-solving, including how to be fair with one another and how to solve problems without needing an adult. The children need to learn to function successfully as a class and by spending the time on social and emotional competencies those first several weeks of school, classroom management is easier and the entire year can be practically seamless. After that, you can easily dive into the academics.

On a last note, recently, our state recognized the importance of social-emotional development. In January 2018, they released updated Tennessee Early Learning Standards for four-year-olds in our state. I was very happy to see that the updated standards strengthened the importance of social-emotional development. This is all so important because, if children don’t feel safe and loved in their classrooms, they aren’t going to be able to learn!

Blog articles provide insights on the activities of schools, programs, grantees, and other education stakeholders to promote continuing discussion of educational innovation and reform. Articles do not endorse any educational product, service, curriculum or pedagogy.

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Dan Gaffney is a veteran educator and administrator, having spent 17 years with the Seaside School District in Oregon as an elementary principal and special education director. He later coordinated Clatsop County’s Preschool—Third Grade (P-3) Collaboration project to align programs and professional development for those working and involved with the education and care of children from birth to age 8. He also developed and directed Clatsop County’s early childhood health and education screening for 3 years. Dan has served on Oregon’s Northwest Early Learning Hub Governance Committee and Clatsop County’s Way to Wellville Strategic Council. Most recently, Dan directed the U.S. Department of Education-funded Preschool Pay for Success Feasibility Study involving Clatsop and Tillamook Counties in Oregon.

ED: How did you begin your career in education and then choose to focus on the importance of early learning?

Dan: I spent 37 years as a K–12 educator. First as a teacher, 13 years as elementary principal, and four years as a special education and English language learner director. All of these experiences really helped me understand the importance of the early childhood years. Being a special education director connected me with a broader education community that includes the medical community working with preschoolers who have or are suspected of having a disability. During the last five years, I’ve worked on preschool to third grade alignment. This has involved working with early childhood experts and the medical community to run a health and development screening clinic available to families with young children in our community. It has addressed a need in our community and connected these families much earlier to both the educational and health systems.

Our community is relatively rural, about 100 miles from Portland, Oregon, and on the coast. One of the things that struck me when I moved here 30 years ago is that people here are resourceful and pull together when there is a need. We find ways to address challenges which can be hard when you are far from a major metropolitan area. Our poverty rates continue to grow. In the elementary school where I was principal, 35 percent of students qualified for free and reduced lunch when I first started. Now, 17 years later, almost 70 percent of students qualify for free and reduced lunch. Our community has also become much more diverse with schools seeing increasing numbers of English language learners. Recognizing these changes in our community broadened my awareness of the challenges families with young children experience and led me to early childhood advocacy work. It also connected me to others at the state and local level working to improve early learning opportunities for young children in need. It has been fun and rewarding working with others who are passionate about improving services and programs for families and young children.

ED: What efforts have you and your community been involved in to improve the quality of early childhood programs and services?

Dan: I coordinated Clatsop County’s Preschool—Third Grade (P-3) Collaboration (funded through the Oregon Community Foundation). This project supported the alignment of educational programs, parenting programs and professional development for early childhood providers, school district teachers and administrators, healthcare professionals, and others involved in the education and care of children from birth to age 8. We called this initiative Clatsop Kinder Ready and brought together leaders from our Hispanic community and county government, preschool and K–12 educators, and others who delivered services to our young learners. That led us to do early childhood health and education screening clinics where families could bring in preschool-aged children and receive free health, developmental, and education screenings, and if needed, follow up with appropriate services. We conducted a couple of these each year. This effort relied on many volunteers—nursing students from the college, local Head Start staff, interpreters from the Hispanic Council, local high school students, elementary school staff, physicians, school psychologists, and others. We also provided transportation support when needed. It was a great example of the community working together.

Then, the state started funding Early Learning Hubs, which are charged with getting cross-sector partners to work together to create local systems that provide families and young children with the support they need. Our Northwest Early Learning Hub was able to take on the screenings, and now the hub is working to improve the link between screenings and the need for appropriate referrals and further evaluation.

A new piece of this work that our community started last year is the Welcome Baby project. The group that worked together under Clatsop Kinder Ready recognized we needed to do something to connect with families of new babies. Following the successful work in other Oregon communities who developed a welcome box, we decided to create welcome baby baskets that include needed baby supplies and a community ABC book. In the ABC book, each letter of the alphabet represents a service available in the community. Last I heard, we had given out over 100 of these in the two local hospitals where each family also connects with a social worker. Last May, we held a county-wide baby shower and invited all the families of babies that had been born in the last year to meet other families and service providers. Participants shared information about different programs and services available for young children and families. The county health department is going to take on the Welcome Baby program and we hope it can be sustained. It has increased awareness and excitement about the importance of these early years and what’s available to help families.

ED: How has your community benefitted from your Preschool Pay for Success (PFS) Feasibility Study and other early learning efforts?

Dan: We were thrilled we had the opportunity to explore how to expand high-quality preschool programs in our community through the Preschool PFS Feasibility Study. More specifically, the purpose of the study was to determine whether or not PFS was a feasible approach for this. Complementing the study were efforts by the Sorenson Impact Center at the University of Utah. Their data experts came in and helped us examine data from eight local school systems and Oregon’s Department of Education that could help inform our efforts.

There have been many benefits of conducting the PFS feasibility study. First, it broadened our set of partners engaged in our early learning work. Having a grant from the U.S. Department of Education really helped us to connect with partners at the University of Utah, the state, and other early learning partners and to form true collaborations. One of the unique partners we have here is the Coast Guard. We have over 600 Coast Guard families living in the county and two additional ships are being reassigned to our area. Our partnership with the Coast Guard extends to serving the needs of their families. They are interested in exploring what they can do and offer in terms of resources to help their families and the broader community around early learning. Our project also attracted interest from state leaders within the education department’s early learning division and the Children’s Institute, Oregon’s largest children’s advocate organization.

Second, and this excited people from the beginning, the study allowed us to pull together data we hadn’t had time or resources to pull together before. This renewed look at data solidified many of our assumptions but also provided us with new information. For example, we now have data showing us that the mobility of families in our community is a big issue. We can see the percentages of our students that are moving regularly across the eight school districts in our community; these data will be helpful in responding to this issue and better meeting the needs of our transient students. Data were really valuable for internal planning and when reaching out externally to clearly demonstrate the extent of our community’s needs. It made a case for expanding high-quality preschool and helped us develop specifics for how to reach families with young children.

Third, through the feasibility study we conducted a cost benefit analysis of preschool expansion and resulting transportation needs in our community. This helped us understand its cost and potential benefits, and understand when and how those benefits occur. Finally, being part of a feasibility study allowed us to consider doing things a little bit differently. We were new to the PFS concept, but it has helped us think about how we can expand on what worked for some of our families and children with the greatest needs.

ED: What suggestions do you have for others interested in expanding access to high-quality early learning programs?

Dan: Collaborate; don’t try to do it on your own. Find out who else has interest, expertise, and connections that are beneficial to not just families and children, but to the overall community. Think about connecting with businesses and your local chamber of commerce. For example, we learned one of our local fish processing centers was looking at buying slots in a local child care program and building that into their employees’ compensation so they could retain high-quality workers. We then brought them into our efforts since they were motivated to support their employees.

Don’t be afraid to reach out to leaders who might seem like they aren’t interested. Have your two minute elevator speech ready—be concise about what you are doing and why, and what the possibilities are. Over the course of my career, and with much practice, I have learned how to make a compelling pitch and have refined my approach with leaders.

Finally, be ready for ups and downs. There definitely isn’t an easy path in this work, but when you have a core group that is committed and willing to dream together and work together, you can keep the momentum going.

Blog articles provide insights on the activities of schools, programs, grantees, and other education stakeholders to promote continuing discussion of educational innovation and reform. Articles do not endorse any educational product, service, curriculum or pedagogy.